Romney wealth as high as $250 million

WASHINGTON -- Republican Mitt Romney is worth between $190 million to $250 million, making him the wealthiest 2008 presidential contender by far.

A financial disclosure report, filed with the Federal Election Commission Monday, provides the first public look at his vast wealth. Romney and his wife, Ann, have kept their assets in a blind trust since Romney became governor of Massachusetts in 2003.

Romney's assets, which range from real estate to stock in companies such as Internet search engine Google and Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer, were detailed in a 47-page report that discloses outside income, assets and debts in broad ranges.

Brad Malt, a Boston lawyer who oversees the trust, said Romney set no ground rules for investments when he established the trust.

Malt said he has acted on his own to sell off some assets he deemed in conflict with Romney's positions. Among them: shares of foreign oil companies that do business with Iran. Romney has called on public pension funds to divest from firms with ties to the country.

Malt said Romney does not have plans to dissolve his blind trust, as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., did in June to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

After Romney, the wealthiest candidates are Clinton, $10 million to $50 million; Democrat John Edwards, nearly $30 million; and Republican Rudy Giuliani, $13 million to $45 million. The wealth of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is held mostly by his wife, Cindy, who isn't required to report details of her assets.

Romney has loaned his campaign nearly $9 million.